Zyvex Corp., which was probably the Metroplex's first stand-alone nanotechnology group, is splitting into four separate companies.

James Von Ehr, the founder and principal funder of the nearly 11-year-old business, says Zyvex's different units were growing fast enough that they needed more attention, funding and staff than they could receive if they were all under one umbrella.

"People have been suggesting this for awhile," says Von Ehr, who made his fortune in the 1990s by selling a software company he launched. "But this is the year when things started to take off to where we needed" to split up, he said.

Zyvex's disaggregation is meant to reassure customers that the company's focus won't shift away from them. According to Von Ehr, clients of one side of the business, which focuses on materials, were concerned that Zyvex would become solely a maker of nanotechnology gear -- and vice versa.

Here's how the structure of the new Zyvex family works:

Zyvex Performance Materials, which houses a product line of additives and concentrates used to incorporate carbon nanotubes into polymers, is slated to move from Richardson to Columbus, Ohio. Von Ehr did not disclose the unit's revenue. The company employs 12 people.

Zyvex Instruments is based in Richardson. The tools business, which had about 30 employees before the split, makes tiny probes used by large chipmakers to understand why their devices fail and how to improve their manufacturing processes. It is expected to do $7 million this year. "It's quite a bit smaller" than the materials side,Von Ehr says. "It has higher growth (potential), but a smaller base."

Also based in Richardson is Zyvex Labs, which encompasses nonrevenue generating research and development and will serve as an incubator to build up and spin out new businesses. It will be funded by government contracts and "me writing checks," Von Ehr says. It has seven employees.

Zyvex Asia,based in Singapore, is working with research institutes in Asia to develop "atomically precise manufacturing," which is the art and science of building things atom by atom. This type of manufacturing is a big focus of Zyvex Labs. Zyvex Asia employs three people in Singapore.

Von Ehr says he will not be involved in the day-to-day operations of any firm in the Zyvex group. He will be chairman of each, though his focus will be on Zyvex Labs and Zyvex Asia, as atomically precise manufacturing is what the original Zyvex was created to do.

Though Von Ehr will be the "principal funder" of each Zyvex firm, he is trying to raise outside capital for them. He declines to get into specifics, citing concern about running afoul of the Securities and Exchange Commission, but adds that investors have expressed interest in the materials business.

Each of the new businesses will have its own management team. For instance, Von Ehr has hired a search firm to find a general manager for Zyvex Instruments. Meanwhile, Thomas Hughes was recently named general manager of Zyvex Performance.

Moving north

Hughes says the decision to spin off the Performance unit was made partly because it needed to be run by people experienced in growing materials businesses. In addition, many of the fledgling's customers and suppliers are based in Ohio.

"I want to be clear that Richardson, Dallas and the state of Texas have been long time valued supporters of both Zyvex" and its performance-materials business, Hughes says. "The reason we're moving from Texas is we've outgrown our facility in Texas."

But he adds that the "core capabilities in (the Metroplex) are in telecom and similar type industries. The infrastructure for the specialty materials business largely resides in Ohio."